Today we walk hallowed ground, onto consecrated property heretofore reserved for Air Coryell’s hangar. It almost seems sacrilegious to explore this subject, especially in San Diego, but the time is right to ask the question: Is Philip Rivers a better quarterback than Dan Fouts?

The answer is yes.

Rivers never has won anything and Fouts is a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but if you can get past the cloud of Don Coryell pixie dust, then you know Fouts never won anything either.

It’s risky and often unfair to compare eras — a New York poll laughingly has Derek Jeter the No. 2 Yankee of all time behind Babe Ruth — but in this case I’ve seen both Chargers QBs play live, covered them both. Rivers is better, and I’m not taking anything away from Fouts.

Rivers is No. 1 because I believe he is, even though I never thought I’d be saying it.

Rivers has enough of a body of work to compare. His performance last year under almost unimaginable conditions for an NFL quarterback did it for me. How many quarterbacks in history could have squeezed nine wins out of that mess?

Due to 2010’s remarkable injury pandemic at wide receiver, Rivers completed 357 of 541 passes, for 4,710 yards (tops in The League) and 30 touchdowns against 13 interceptions in real games to the likes of Seyi Ajirotutu, Kelley Washington, Kory Sperry, Richard Goodman and Gary Banks — a few of whom he’d just met during the week.

All in all, Rivers completed passes to an astounding 17 different receivers, with his two best, Antonio Gates and Vincent Jackson, missing great chunks of time.

“He played with all these different guys and the first half of the season we put ourselves in such a negative situation, but Philip always fought to get out,” head coach Norv Turner says. “I don’t know if any one quarterback has been in a more unique situation. It starts with the quarterback’s mindset. He trusted the new receivers and he made guys better. And he kept mistakes to a minimum.”

Rivers had complete control of the situation and he never let it rattle him.

“In Norv’s system, guys who haven’t had the work have a chance,” Rivers says. “It’s why guys who came in midweek were able to play on Sunday. We just worked at it. Nobody panicked. Kelley Washington came in and I’d never thrown him a ball in my life. But all our skill guys, guys who handle the ball, were football players. They knew how to play football and had a feel for the game.

“I never felt like the guy looking at what I don’t have. Let’s go out and do it. Why not? There was confidence in the huddle. We were missing some great players, but we never said, ‘Oh, we don’t think we can do it.’ ”

A few years ago former Charger-turned-team-broadcaster Hank Bauer asked me if I thought Rivers was better than Fouts. It was early on then — Rivers had only been the starter for 3½ seasons — but I told him: “Well, Fouts made more mistakes than Rivers.”

Hank, who played with Fouts, didn’t say anything. He nodded and smiled.

Fouts threw five interceptions in playoff games vs. Houston and Miami. Rivers never has thrown more than two interceptions in a game, including seven playoff starts. In the accuracy department, it isn’t even close.

Over 181 games, 171 as a starter, Fouts completed 3,297 of his 5,604 attempts (58.8 percent) for 43,040 yards and 254 touchdowns against 242 interceptions (80.2 passer rating). Under him, the Chargers were 86-84-1, but it must be noted that, during his pre-Coryell years, the franchise was dreadful.

Over 84 games, 80 as a starter, Rivers has thrown 2,455 passes, completing 1,564 (63.7 percent) for 19,661 yards and 136 touchdowns against 58 interceptions (97.2 rating). Under him, the Chargers are 55-25.

Fouts had the privilege of throwing to two Hall of Fame receivers, Winslow and Charlie Joiner, not to mention John Jefferson and Wes Chandler (and there are receivers in the Hall now who weren’t as good as Chandler). He had backs Chuck Muncie and James Brooks who could catch the ball. And he stood behind one of the stoutest offensive lines in NFL history.

Rivers has had the wondrous Gates and Vincent Jackson (when he hasn’t held out), and of course, one of the most versatile of all backs, LaDainian Tomlinson, with some Darren Sproles mixed in. Injuries have plagued his offensive line, which is solid when healthy but remains a work in progress.

“What separates the great ones from the guys who are close is that the great ones make everyone around them better,” says Turner, who also coached Hall of Famer Troy Aikman in Dallas. “I’ve never been around a guy in his position who had to do more than Philip did last year. He wasn’t affected by any of it. To me, that’s the sign of the next-level guy.”

Rivers says that, “in a lot of ways,” 2010 was his best year. “But I missed some plays that would have given us wins. And we didn’t win.”